PM64's Fourth Annual Christmas Special
by PokeMaster64
Summary: It's that time of the year again! Break out the hot chocolate, evergreen trees, and candy canes, because it's time for the 4th annual Christmas Special!
1. Chapter 1

"And here…we…go."

The lights cut on as I took my place in the spotlight of my living room, posing for the cameras.

"Greetings, everyone! PM64 is here for the 4th Annual Christmas Special of 2019!"

"Has it been three years already?" My concentration broke as Ryder walked in from behind.

"Oh shut up, Ryder!"

He shrugged. "Still waiting for you to update my side story. And Laura's. And that one with Koda in it. Come to think of it, you have a side story for Team Shatter Star in the works—"

"Hush!"

"Fine, whatever." He walked off to get some hot cocoa.

I took a deep breath and composed myself. "Alright, getting back on track." I grinned. "Anyway, ignoring that little interruption, welcome back! I look forward to doing this kind of stuff. Who knows, maybe I can still do Fanfiction when I become an official author."

"_If _you become an official author," Ryder cut in from the background.

"You are being very sassy today, Ryder!"

"Love you, too, buddy."

I sighed and rubbed my temples. "Getting back on track, I have a lot to think about since I'm closing in on my final semester of college, assuming I don't go for a master's degree or something. May have to broaden my job horizons a bit." I took a seat in my usual armchair. "But yeah, I do want to finish up the stuff I'm currently working on at some point in the future, especially TSOTI given how long I've been working on it. Which reminds me, major updates about _that _later.

"So, as usual, I make it a tradition to have a particular topic in mind along with the usual questions from you guys. Last year, we talked about the original conception for TSOTI, so what to do now? Talk about BOTF? Well, not in the same vein. Let me put it like this, talking about any original concepts in BOTF in detail would lead to some big spoilers, trust me. Maybe I could mention a couple of vague things here and there.

"No, I've decided to treat you guys a bit regarding some future characters for BOTF. A bit of information here and there, but spoilers will be avoided as best as possible. So, some major enemies, some future allies, a look into the royals of other kingdoms, etc. I figure giving a sneak peek of these characters in the distant future would be a nice treat for what's to come. And, of course, some future updates regarding how BOTF will be updated."

"Annnd the side stories?" Ryder asked, returning with a cup of cocoa.

I sighed. "I'll talk about that, too, and probably talk about some other stuff, like sequels and LITC as a whole. There's a lot to cover. I guess the topic of today is 'Discussing the Future.' That'll be fun."

"Speaking of fun, who's coming this year?" Ryder asked, taking his seat.

"Well, definitely a few of my favorites from TOF, since we just finished it this year. A few members of Team Ravenfield, and I figured bringing some of Team Shatter Star along. And, of course, prominent faces of BOTF."

"And what about Laura?"

I rolled my eyes and whipped out a remote. "Same as usual." I clicked a button.

A monitor rolled down from the ceiling and switched to a video feed of a street with a Christmas themed market running in the background. Laura stepped into view, wearing a reindeer sweater and a vest covered in bells.

"Hey, what up, Brad?" she greeted with a smile.

I smiled back. "Enjoying the festival over there, Laura?"

"How can I not? Fun and games galore!"

"You know, you could actually join us in person for once."

"Yeah, I could, couldn't I?"

I laughed. "Suit yourself then."

"You're not bringing that technophobe, Melissa, back, right?"

I shook my head. "She is coming, Laura, and she's a little more prepared for this year than last time. And the others, too."

Laura snickered. "Too bad. I actually enjoyed freaking her out with _magic future devices._"

"Only you, Laura, only you."

"So, when's the party coming?"

A knock sounded off the nearby door. I smiled. "About now." I headed over and opened the door, greeted by Juniper, Tamara, and Quinn. "Hey, how's it going, guys?"

Juniper yawned, much louder than normal. "Running an organization is killer on me. Get me a hot cocoa with extra diet cola." She trudged into the house and collapsed onto the couch.

"Sounds like she's having a rough day," I said, laughing a bit.

Tamara smirked. "The joys of being responsible, eh, Juniper?"

"Shut up," she groaned from the cushions.

Tamara and Quinn stepped inside. As I closed the door, I asked, "So Quinn, Artemis isn't joining you?"

He shook his head. "I convinced her to spend the holidays with her mother."

"How's that going?"

"Last I saw her, they were getting into an argument over something. So, I'd say they're doing fine."

"Good." I rubbed my hands together. "Make yourselves at home. Enjoy the food. We'll be getting started soon."

"Thanks!" they exclaimed.

As I headed over to the couch, a loud boom sounded behind me, followed by a bright, purple light. I turned as Wes, Ella, Flint, and Gwyn stepped out of the Warp Tunnel, dressed in winter gear. Wes grinned and saluted. "What is up, people?"

I crouched down and smiled. "How's it going, you guys? No Griffin or Tony joining you?"

"They're having their own fun back in Mysto," Ella said. "Griffin's hanging out with Faye and his friends and Tony's spending time with his mom and Cheri."

"Well, hope they're having fun." I smiled at the two couples, tails coiled together. "You all look so sweet together."

They blushed and laughed. Gwyn snuggled up against Flint. "Hard to believe we just got together in the last special, huh?"

Flint rubbed his head against hers. "It does feel like a long time."

"Well, make yourselves comfortable. We're just waiting on Melissa and a few Foresters." They nodded and headed off for the buffet table.

Ryder walked over to me. "Small turnout, huh?"

"Well, I don't want it getting too crowded. Can't invite everyone. That reminds me, where's Jade? I thought she would be joining us this year."

"I am!" I turned and saw Jade exiting from the kitchen, wrapped in a green scarf. "I was checking on the food and getting stuff from the oven." She kissed Ryder and hugged his arm. "Besides, I wouldn't miss spending the holidays with my favorite guy."

He smiled. "The feeling's mutual."

I sighed. "I _really _need to get cracking on that short story of yours." The door knocked once again. "Ah, that must be Melissa." I pulled the door opened, greeted by Melissa, Jason, Blitz, Marie, Pandora, and Basil. "What's up, gang?"

Melissa smiled and waved. "Greetings, my human friend. We are here for the festivities."

"Surprised to see you here, Jason," I admitted.

Jason glared. "Eadwulf forced me to go since I needed a break."

"And Jet's not joining you guys?"

Blitz shook his head. "Do you really think someone like Jet around complete strangers is a good idea?"

"You know, good point." I smiled to the other three. "Marie, Pandora, Basil, thank you for coming."

Basil bowed. "Thank you for inviting us."

Pandora looked around the room with a big grin. "So, this is the future technology Melissa spoke of." She gasped at the screen displaying Laura. "And what a stellar piece of equipment! Imagine the evil I could perform with the ability to project myself from any flat surface!"

Laura blinked, then smirked. "Five seconds in and I already found a new best friend."

"Name's Pandora!"

"I'm Laura."

While Pandora walked over to converse with Laura, Marie slinked in between Ryder and Jade, hooking her arms around them. "Nice to meet you both. Maybe after the party, we can have a private one somewhere else~."

Ryder gently peeled Marie's arm off and pulled Jade away. "I'm…not interested," he declined politely.

Marie winked. "Suit yourself. At least I still have Cottontail~."

Melissa's face turned bright red. "I-I am not interested in you either, Marie!"

"You say that _now_, hun~!" Marie laughed and wandered off to find some food.

Melissa sunk and covered her face. "_That _is what I have to live with."

"You have my sympathies," Ryder mumbled.

Jade giggled. "I like her attitude."

I sighed. "Good grief. Okay, places! Everyone get seated, the fun's going to start!"

The Pokémon and Fusions grabbed their food and seated themselves on or beside the couch. I took my place on the armchair and smiled.

"Time to get this show on the road. We'll be taking questions up until Sunday, then we'll take two weeks for the second round of questions. During the first round of questions, we'll be talking about some future plans for TSOTI and BOTF, and maybe a few other things. Who knows? Second round, we'll be talking about some of the new characters later down in BOTF, some minor information about their presence in the story, and fun teasers. Who doesn't love a good teaser?"

Ryder smirked. "Given how people call you a cliffhanger madman, no one in your audience."

"Cease your sass!" I shook my head, then leaned back into the couch. "Well, let's get this show on the road."


	2. Chapter 2

"Welcome back, everyone!" I announced, resting comfortably in my armchair. "Thank you to everyone who submitted questions. We're looking for to reading them out loud."

"When are we going to talk about the story updates?" Ryder asked, sitting next to Jade on the floor.

"We'll get to that at the end of the chapter. For now, let's just get on with the questions!"

"_How are we reading them this year?"_ Laura asked while perusing the stalls at the Christmas market.

"Let's see. We did the wheel, the papers…we could do stone tablets."

Basil chuckled. "Or, I could just hand them to you." Basil flicked his wrist and pulled a scroll from thin air. "Here you go." He tossed it over to me.

Tamara stared at him in bafflement. "Where did that even come from?"

"Don't question it," I said as I unfurled the scroll. "Let's see, first up is a new regular around my page, **ThePyukumukuKing.**"

"Oh yes, he sounds very nice," Melissa said. "Any good ones in there?"

"Yes there are. Some fun ones, too." I cleared my throat and began to read:

"**It's amazing how fast time flies. It seems like not long ago at all that you started the third Christmas special."**

"Oh yeah, I know the feeling. Feels like yesterday I just wrote Chapter 100 for TSOTI."

Gwyn beamed. "That was my favorite part!"

Flint rolled his eyes and smirked. "Can't imagine why."

"Oh you~." She nuzzled into his mane.

"**1\. My first question is for the BOTF cast. If you could use magic like TSOTI characters what kind of magic would you want to have and how would you use it for the foresters?"**

Basil chuckled. "How presumptuous. Who's to say I don't already possess magic?"

"We're not going down that route!" I intervened. "Everyone else _besides _Basil?" Basil just shrugged and leaned back into the couch.

Jason closed his eyes and thought it over. "Storm Magic seems appropriate for me. Plus, it would be useful since I—"

"Whoa, no, no!" I interrupted. "No spoilers! We aren't here to talk about that yet."

"_You are a real tease," _Laura said with a laugh.

Blitz raised his hand. "Fire Magic. Simple and practical. Plus, it would benefit my expertise of long range combat by setting things ablaze from a distance."

Marie grinned. "I wouldn't mind having the Jubilation Anima. Would do me some real good if I can move fast with one leg." She looked over at Flint and winked. "I know your pain, hon. May we can bond over our unfortunate luck with crippled legs." Flint shivered and held Gwyn close to his side.

Pandora smirked. "I would love to have the corrupted Shadow Magic used by the Tribe of Shadows. Can you imagine me with the power to corrupt everything? I would make all of Virdis bow at my command and take over the world!" She threw her head back and laughed maniacally.

I stared at her in stunned silence. "Good…for you. And Melissa?"

Melissa smiled awkwardly. "I guess Ebony's Thief Magic. It _would _help me become a better thief."

"Funny you would pick the magic used by another Buneary," I said with a laugh. "Alright, what's next?"

"**2\. This is a question for you. You've mentioned side stories and rewrites, but do you have any ideas or plans for any new stories?"**

"Aside from sequels which may not see the light of day any time in the future, a few found on my profile. Night of the Ninjas, Legend of the Forgotten, one story involving a detective, etc. I can't imagine being on FanFiction long enough to get around to these as I intend to write my own original material once I'm out of college. I've got ideas that are still being built up today."

"**3\. My last question is for the TOF cast. If you had to choose, would you rather join the foresters or Team Ravenfield?"**

The Fusion girls glanced at each other, then thought it over. Quinn crossed his arms. "I'd go as a Forester. I would love to learn about the spiritual teachings they seem to have."

Tamara huffed. "I'd personally go with Team Ravenfield. Regardless if the Foresters have good intentions or not, it's against my moral code to assist thieves."

Juniper shrugged. "Your loss, though I have to agree with Tamara. Mysto sounds like it's got some good grub around. Plus, not diet cola in ye old days, so big nope for me on that."

I smiled and nodded. "Excellent responses, gang. Now, for the next reviewer—"

"Here you go." I jumped from my seat as Basil dropped a small box on the armrest, which held the remaining scrolls. Basil walked back to his seat and sat down.

"I am so glad they didn't bring Valentine along, too," I muttered as I grabbed a scroll. "Next up is **mikepeashooter. **Great to have you, Mike. Thanks for submitting. Let's see what you got."

"**Hey Brad, this is your friendly neighborhood peab here! Before we get to my question, I wanna say that I'm a fan of Laura, her attitude and combat is really great! maybe someday i'll be her partner in crime...**

**Anyway, I wonder what are you going to do after TSOTI and BOTF, or maybe even after your future stories you have or will work on soon? I do hope things will go smoothly by then to achieve your goal.**

**From~Cappy**

**P.S. Hope Laura's doing great!"**

Laura smirked. _"This guy's got good taste. I'll set you up with a resume later so we can talk."_

"Laura!" I scolded.

"_What? How can I deny such a generous request?"_

I rolled my eyes. "Continuing, as mentioned previously, it's hard to say if I'll be on the site for very long once I graduate and get a job. I do plan on writing my own stuff that isn't Pokémon related, but this might be a side thing I do until anything I get published takes off. Well, I assuming I can get published in the first place. The market for authors is a cruel slope. Still, like I said, I have ideas I want to share with people. I already got a series brewing in my head."

"_You could always promote your books from here~," _Laura teased.

"I will _not _do that…unless I have no other option." I smiled. "Anyway, thanks a lot, Mike. Hope to see you around more."

"_Stay in touch~!" _Laura exclaimed.

"Laura, no!"

"_Laura, yes!" _

I groaned and tossed the scroll away. "You'll be the death of me, I swear." I pulled another scroll out. "Okay, next we got **Sir Fenith**. Great to have you, Sir Fenith. Let's see what you got."

"**Okay, so I have a quick question about BOTF.  
Seeing that you have Pikachu and Buneary bracketed, does that mean that they're going to become a couple sometime in the fanfic?  
By the way, I read the next chapter of BOTF and, like always, it was amazing! I can't wait for the next chapter to come out!  
Honestly, though, it's crazy how each chapter is practically 6000 words (and I can barely get 1000 in a single chapter :P)"**

"Well, first off, glad you're enjoying. It surprises me sometimes how I get so many words into a single chapter. I just can't do short chapters for some reason, or anything less than 2,000. I don't know why, it just feels too short for me. Glad you're enjoying BOTF, too.

"As for Jason and Melissa being a couple—"

"Wait, what?" Jason and Melissa spoke up.

"—you're not the first person to ask this, believe it or not. **VGS2 the sexy sausage **brought this to my attention quite recently, since it's obvious these two don't have complementary personalities."

"I am sorry, can you repeat that thing about being a couple?" Melissa asked timidly.

"That was the intention when I originally came up with BOTF, and I'm stubborn about changing certain things. I do intend to, but not immediately in this part. I'll explain what I mean by _this part_ later."

"You're ignoring us, aren't you?" Jason asked.

"Anyway, thank you very much, Sir Fenith! Hope to see you around more!"

"He's ignoring us," Jason grumbled.

"Moving on." I grabbed the next scroll. "Our next reviewer is **Void Reader, **a regular (guest) reviewer around these parts. Always full of questions and fun things to say. Let's start."

"**Yeah, I've been waiting for updates on your Sides for a long time. Have r my questions; BOTF has been giving me the vibe of Akame ga Kill, how the Foresters attack nobles n fight against the kingdoms' discrimination like Night Raid assassinates corrupting figures of the empire for a new order of peace. Would there be battles against despicable nobles here too? How rotten would the nobles be? Blood thirsty or sadistic?"**

"I actually have watched a little of Akame Ga Kill, so I get the reference. Though, nothing to that extent. The Foresters have a strict rule about no killing, so they wouldn't assassinate anyone. Topple the kingdoms? That'd be a different situation.

"As for noble battles, no shortage of those in the future. I'll go into detail on one of them next round when I talk about future BOTF characters, and when I explain future changes to BOTF. Let's just say one of them is definitely bloodthirsty and one of the more prominent antagonists in the story."

"**Would u be deleting the old LITC when u start your new one? Where u get your inspiration for your magic spells from in TSOTI?"**

"Regarding LITC, I wouldn't delete it. Rather, I'd just leave it as it is and post a redux of the original, just so people could look back and see how much changed since the original. If and when I decide to do that is another story. As for spells in TSOTI, I take inspiration from lots of anime for different spells, even in the origins aren't inherently magical. Other than that, I sometimes use the Superpower Wiki for different ideas.

"I think anyone who has been around my work long enough knows I take inspiration from Dragon Ball and, more recently, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Anyone want to take a guess where the inspiration for the Ditto merchant in BOTF came from?"

"**Will u take my choices of fashion trend clothes for Ella n Gwyn to wear? I want to see attractive maid costumes, cute cheerleaders, n for Ella to play nurse for Wes with a strapless nurse outfit whose skirt is shorter than Gwyn's one. N to making better for her, she can carry a huge syringe. Also hoping to see Melissa n her other female friends to wear skimpy maid suits for occasions like infiltration or parties, that sort of shebang."**

The girls were visibly red-faced, as well as the guys, save for Laura who was laughing her head off. _"Make way for Sexy Town, boys! Hahahaha!"_

Marie raised her brow. "Void, while I would personally love to see Melissa and Pandora in nice maid outfits—"

"Marie, agh!" Melissa covered her face.

"—our definition of skimpy is a bit different to yours. Hell, showing a little bit of ankle is provocative enough. The closest you're getting out of us is the standard uniforms from Verde, only with the skirts an inch shorter than normal."

I shook off my own shock and cleared my throat. "A-Adding on, in regards to TSOTI, I only do those scenes to lighten the mood a bit, or just for fun. However, given where we're coming to in the story, no more of those scenes will be popping up anytime soon. We're getting to a darker setting for TSOTI pretty soon, so pulling one out wouldn't be appropriate. So, no, not doing…any of that."

"Thank goodness," Melissa groaned.

I pick out another scroll. "So, who's next? Seems to be **Drifter77. **Nice to see you, Drifter. Hope you're having a wonderful day and looking forward to the holidays. Looking forward to see what you asked."

"**Merry Christmas, PM64 and the cast! I apologize for the amount of loaded questions I have for you, but I want to find out more about the world of these stories.**

**All worlds: What are the historical/cultural impacts involving zeraora and/or the ultra beasts in your world?"**

"All good. I've had plenty of loaded questions in the past. Now, as for your first question…"

Quinn raised his hand and took over. "Zeraora is about as rooted into our culture as any other Legendary, but the Ultra Beasts aren't quite as involved in, say, our biology. Hard to say whether or not they could be a part of our culture. I haven't seen a Fusion that was part Ultra Beast yet."

Jason nodded. "The Ultra Beasts don't really exist in our world, save for Solgaleo and Lunala. Zeraora is still prevalent."

Melissa continued, "There is actually a rumor within my kingdom that one of our retired knights dealt with a Zeraora, as hard it is to believe."

Ella tapped her chin for a moment, then said, "I think there's some records on the Ultra Beasts in our world. They've popped up somewhere before. After all, with the different spaces and dimensions scattered throughout Mysto, it wouldn't be surprising to find one dimension that houses them."

**ToF**

"**What are the armaments, gear and training of the fusion hunters? How do the laser rifles and disabling collars work and do stun sticks affect electric types? And are ultra beast fusions possible?"**

"Fusion Hunters," I explained, "go through rigorous training akin to your standard boot camp. They're no different to military, though of a different branch. They usually come equipped with the equipment you listed, as well as explosives and various other weapons with the same properties. As for how they work, I never gave an exact explanation for the science, but take it like this. There are Pokémon Items in the games that bypass weaknesses and such, so it wouldn't be a stretch to say something was developed to neutralize a Pokémon's ability to use their moves. Julian Roteman was the one responsible for manufacturing these improved collars and rifles in order to contain Fusions. The stun sticks would be able to affect Electric-Types.

"As for Ultra Beast Fusions, as mentioned by Quinn, there's no current record of them since they exist on a different plane to that of the Legendary Pokémon. Though, maybe some meddling in science will change that."

**TSOTI**

"**What is the inspiration behind mythic heart and the gelid peak tournament?"**

"There isn't much special to say about the Gelid Peak Tournament. I wanted to do a tournament arc to make some new characters, like Team Shatter Star and the Wild Fangs, so there it is. Mythic Heart is a different story, as I wanted to expand on the universe a bit by introducing a popular card game for Griffin and Faye to bond over. Faye is basically the geeky girl who does a lot of technical stuff, being the master of props and all that.

"Mythic Heart is a weird amalgamation of Hearthstone and Yu-Gi-Oh in my eyes, with a sprinkle of Magic the Gathering. I'm sure if I took the time, I could actually establish the full ruleset of Mythic Heart and flesh it out more. For now, it's a standard card game simply to make the world a bit more interesting."

**BOTF**

"**What are the names of the ranks in the foresters and how can one progress within those ranks?"**

Jason slurped his hot cocoa, then leaned forward. "Forester ranking is divided into seven ranks within the hierarchy. It was made with the intention of simplicity. The Green Scouts is the lowest position in the Foresters to be considered an official member. Though, this just means you passed the exams. As a Green Scout, you are prohibited from engaging in combat as you would still be a rookie, and will be overseen for secondary training to move up. Green Scouts _can _disregard the training and instead focus on keeping the base running as an artisan, cook, etc.

"After secondary training, you're made into a Woodland Ranger. Not much difference to Green Scouts, except you are now more experienced and officially allowed to join in on raids and missions. This is the most common rank among the Foresters. We have everyone move up in rank through tests to see if they're capable for the job. Our standards get increasingly stricter with each rank. You often have to go through each rank before you can progress."

Blitz continued, "Weald Rangers are the next rank, and they act as the guards of Fort Lucus. They're in charge of diverting all search parties away from the base and keeping it protected by potential threats. They're the first line of defense in case we are ever attacked. Fortunately, that hasn't happened yet. Greenwood Leaders is one of the highest authorities within the fort community outside the leadership positions. They basically keep the place running directly while Jason oversees everything."

Basil nodded. "I should know since I'm a Greenwood Leader. I assist the leaders, keep everyone in line, and manage supplies. It's a tough job, but it's rewarding."

Jason continued, "Then, of course, the Nature Spirit Scouts. Without delving too much into the process, I specially handpick a Forester who has exceeded my expectations and have them sent to an unknown location for a month. They are the elites, specially trained to carry out certain missions not even the Greenwood Leaders know of. It's top secret information. Blitz was one sometime ago before becoming a Secondary Leader."

Blitz nodded. "Secondary Leaders are only chosen from Nature Spirit Scouts, usually picked from former leaders or those with a strong sense of integrity. And of course, there's the Leader, which is basically Jason's permanent position until he gets killed."

Jason sighed. "Lovely imagery."

**Brad**

"**Have you ever thought about doing an outer space or ultra space story or a story that involves the ultra beasts or dynamaxing? Is a crossover story (other than the Christmas specials) between your stories possible? And if you thought of doing video games for your stories, what would be the controls and characteristics for them?"**

"You know, if I ever consider it, I might consider an Ultra Space story. Could be fun. Dynamaxing, however, seems to be a Galar only thing, as in something that can only happen within Galar, so no. I have tangled with the idea of a crossover, but I would need to establish a lot of things before I go down that route.

"A videogame for my stories would probably be an open world RPG where everyone has their own individual skill tree and stats. Something like the Xenoblade series. Different attacks systems based off the character and what world they come from. Everyone would be scaled to each other so they're all equally fun to play. I would have to really think about this one…"

Laura sighed. _"Man, those were loaded questions."_

"But they were fun to answer. Thanks a bunch, Drifter." I pulled out the next scroll. "And it looks like we've got **Guest. **Thanks for being here, Guest. Looking forward to what you've got."

"**Hi to everyone! I hope a good trae.  
Okay, these aré my questions:  
To Brad: Any time thought un to write on something different to Pokémon, AND what exactly?  
To the rest: what placer of the world real yes could would see and why?  
Foe everyone: The designs from the Pokémon un the movie "Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, what the they seemed?  
Ok bye."**

Everyone stared at the scroll over my shoulder, squinted hard at the words. "Um, Guest?" Tony asked. "Not to sound like a jerk or anything, but is English your second language?"

I sighed. "They're mostly comprehensible. Would I like to write anything other than Pokémon? Well actually, yes. Not to anyone's surprise, I do watch more than just Pokémon. Actually, I don't really watch the series that much these days. I would probably make a fanfiction for some of my favorite shows, like JoJo's, Bungo Stray Dogs, My Hero Academia, etc."

Quinn read the scroll over again. "Okay, I think it's asking us where we would want to go in the real world. Hmm, hard to say. Maybe to see the Eastern Island Heads. They look pretty neat."

Ella smirked. "France all the way, baby."

Laura shrugged. "_Eh, I'm already touring the world, so who cares?"_

Gwyn raised her hands, beaming. "I want to go to Disney World!"

Flint chuckled. "Of course you do."

Juniper crossed her arms. "Doesn't matter to me. Anywhere would be nice to nap."

Basil chuckled. "I would love to see how the human world performs magic shows."

I read the scroll again. "This last one's a bit tricky, but I think they're asking what you think about the designs from the Detective Pikachu movie."

Tamara raised her brow. "For the humans, they probably look fine. To us, it looks quite…strange."

Marie nodded. "No kidding. I don't remember Charizard looking that scaly before. It was weird."

I tossed the scroll away. "Just a reminder, I can't have everyone give their opinion on questions like these or we'll be here all day. Anyway, thank you, Guest. I hope we answered those correctly." I retrieved another scroll. "Next is—Ah! My good pal, **Mysteryals!** Didn't expect you to be here."

Tamara waved. "Hey, Mystery. Hope things are well."

"Nice guy," Juniper said with a yawn.

I unfurled the scroll, then raised my brow. "Huh, there's a side note at the bottom. Eh, I'll read that in a moment."

"**Okay, first time doing one of these...Q&A Christmas things, I guess. So here's a question for the 'Bandits of the Forest' cast—  
"If you guys could become Fusions, what would you want your other halves to be?""**

Jason closed his eyes for a moment. "Probably a Pikachu-Jolteon. Increases my speed and electricity."

"Charmeleon-Noivern," Blitz said. "I could make good use of the echolocation."

Melissa scratched her cheek. "Hmm, tough call. Maybe a Buneary-Altaria. I do not know, it just sounds graceful."

Basil smirked. "I would be a Salandit-Mr. Rime."

Tamara blinked in bafflement. "Uh…why?"

"Who wouldn't want to look as dapper as that fellow? I could probably pull off more tricks with that kind of power."

Tamara deadpanned. "You're a strange one, Basil."

Marie chuckled. "I'd personally go for Mawile-Alolan Ninetales. Majestic and the power of cold by my side. It'd be perfect."

"Lame!" Pandora jumped onto the floor and grinned. "Your ideas are all too linear! You need to think big! I would tower over opposition by becoming the very embodiment of evil itself! I would become a Growlithe-Eternatus! Mwuahahahaha!"

Everyone stared at her wide-eyed. "Is…Eternatus even an _evil _Pokémon?" Quinn asked.

"Might…have said something along those lines in one of the early Sword and Shield leaks," I mumbled. "Thank you for that, Pandora." She grinned proudly and sat back down. I looked at the scroll again and sighed. "She's a pain to manage. Now, what's this little bit on the end."

"**Side Note: Corviknight-Magneton, Inteleon-Kecleon and Donphan-Copperajah...These are MORE Fusions I keep thinking of because I CAN'T STOP! I already have 40 Fusion combos for NO REASON. (Comedically sobbing) Monster, this is YOUR fault! (XDXD)"**

"Mhmm, mhmm, I see." I faced the camera, straight-faced. "I'm not sorry. Moving on!" I tossed the scroll away and pulled out a new one. "Next, we've got **AllKorean**, who was the one to graciously submit Leon of BOTF. Glad to have you, AllKorean."

"Just so you know," Jason said, "Leon's doing rather well in his training. He'll be an excellent Forester soon enough."

"I think he still hates me," Melissa said, laughing awkwardly.

I laughed. "Yeah, get use to that feeling, Melissa."

"Wait, what?"

"Anyway, let's get to reading!"

"**The holidays are upon us and I feel that there is no better time than now to finally write something on this site after lurking in the shadows for so long.**

**I know you'll probably go over this in the next chapter, but I might as well ask anyway. I think it's safe to say that TSOTI could be considered your flagship story, with it probably being the longest running and lengthiest of your stories. What I'm really interested in is should you decide to continue writing on this site after college, what your plans would be when TSOTI eventually comes to an end. I know that you are just now starting to look into sequels for some of your older stories, but would you ever consider a story, sequel or not, on the scale of TSOTI considering your busy schedule? Sorry if I'm coming off as rude or condescending, but I really am impressed with how you are able to keep up with your updates on multiple stories a regular basis while still being in college.**

**As always, keep up the great work and Merry Christmas to you and the cast!"**

"Not a problem, AllKorean, you're perfectly fine. As for your question, hard to say. I imagine it would be 'The Assassin and the Princess' sequel or anything from the FTLOP universe that could rival TSOTI, but I doubt that. TSOTI, however, won't really have a sequel. If I do finish it, we might just have side stories to go along with it. I don't think I'll be ever to replicate something of this quantity ever again, or at least on this site.

"I'm not sure if I'll ever get around to those other sequels. I would either have nothing going on in terms of a writing career or I'm making my life hectic by juggling so much onto one plate. Regardless, like I said, doubt anything will ever come close to breaking the word count of this story.

"But anyway, thanks for being here and have a Merry Christmas."

"Take care!" the cast exclaimed.

I pulled out a new scroll. "Alright, now we have **Pikachu47**. Thanks for responding. Let's get to business."

"**Hello Brad, I've been reading your stories and I loved it. my favorates are FTLOP, TFONL, SOTI, and BOTF. I got some questions; when will you going to make the sequel stories of TFONL? could you explain more about the The Team Shatter Star ?"**

"You know, that's a good question. I have like two sequels planned after TFONL, and I'm not sure if I'll ever get to writing those, especially with me at the end of college pretty soon. I still want to get those short stories I promised written before I get cracking on that.

"Now, the story behind Team Shatter Star is a fun one. I do have a backstory planned for them as a side story, but that'll come in its own time. I wanted a rival team for Team Ravenfield, but not in the same camp as enemies. You could think of Team Shatter Star as 'What I could've ended up doing instead of focusing on the main characters.' I wanted to make some new characters who were bombastic and generally nuts, as well as explore different styles of magic and combat.

"I wanted someone who could use explosives, a sniper, a thief who uses thief-based magic, a priest, a blue fire user, and a martial artist. Well, not specifically those things, but that's what we got. They were meant to be a fun team to play off with Team Ravenfield, as well as allies for the future. And trust me, this won't be the last time we see them. We'll get more on them when I get that side story written up."

Basil popped up from behind my armchair and grabbed another scroll. "Hmm, only two left."

"Getting closer to talking about those updates I mentioned. Also, quit popping out of nowhere." I swiped the scroll away and unfurled it. "Ah, here's a regular who frequents my stuff: **austintodd315. **Yes, I know this isn't how your name is spelled, but trust me, it would've disappeared had I tried."

Ryder leaned over. "Ooh, that looks like a long one."

"Longest one of the replies, actually." I cleared my throat and began.

"**This might be the first time that it actually feels like the year actually went by very quickly for me. But maybe that's just because we are actually at the Holiday Season now. Has it really been a whole entire year since the last Christmas Special? Maybe this is Pandora's latest evil scheme to take over the world: Messing with people's perception of time."**

Pandora sneakily pulled out some parchment and muttered, "Note to self: invent time distortion machine."

"**I'm very excited for The Holidays anyway, as well as this special! I'm definitely looking forward to hearing more about these stories!**

**One thing that I've noticed is that the description for BOTF that you had on your profile a while back was very different from what the story seems to be like right now. It feels like it has been expanded upon quite a bit.**

**I'm excited to hear more about the story. Especially characters, because the way that the story seems to be set up right now really seems to be giving the story a lot of potential for multiple big villains. Heck, I can't help but wonder if the story will end up with multiple main antagonists who juggle the role of being the biggest threat, but I cannot say for sure.**

**I'm excited for information about the other stories as well. Particularly LITC and the shorter stories, which I've been very curious about for quite a while now."**

"Yeah, BOTF went through some major updates from its original conception. Erasmus didn't even exist back then, or even Darby. It would've gone the generic route of annoying, arrogant prince had I not made some changes. I felt that was for the best.

"I can't wait to share about these future characters. It adds some excitement for when they eventually show up. Of course, I'm going to be utterly vague with a few of them, which just screams suspiciousness with my track record. They'll be a lot to talk about."

"**But anyway, here are my questions:**

**SPOILER WARNING**

**I've gotta start with Juniper here: TOF ended on a very open ended manner, not to mention a bittersweet one, so how is your new job going? You were promoted pretty darn abruptly, and now one of the original Council Members is actually answering to YOU, so how as it been to adapt to that, as well as what your work involves?"**

Juniper groaned and slumped forward. "Ssssoooo boring. I haven't had a decent nap in months."

"Sounds more like an improvement," Tamara muttered.

"I didn't expect there to be so much work to do. Who knew being a leader would be so _exhausting_? How did the chief put up with this crap?" Juniper sighed and shook her head. "But, the fact I'm still doing it shows I care. I could quit whenever I want, but that wouldn't be cool. I'm slowly getting the hang of everything, and I thankfully get breaks."

Artemis snickered. "I feel so bad for whoever works as your secretary."

"I don't have a secretary—" Juniper paused, then gasped. "Oh my gosh, I could totally hire my own personal secretary! They could bring me pillows, blankets, hot cocoa—"

I raised my hand. "Uh, Jun? They're secretaries, not personal servants."

"Can't hear you, having a stroke of genius!"

"**Next up, to any characters outside of BOTF who might be interested, if you were in the BOTF universe, would you view yourself as a Forester or a knight from one of the Kingdoms that have currently been revealed? What would you excel at the most?"**

Tamara sighed. "Once again, my morals would lead me to serving as a knight. I refuse to operate as a thief regardless of whatever good the Foresters are performing."

Marie snickered. "How noble of you."

Ella tapped her chin. "Well, screw that, I rather be a thief. Sounds more fun."

Wes nodded. "Agreed. I already steal stuff, anyway."

Flint raised his paw. "Hate to break the trend, but I'm with Tamara as a knight. I've had enough trouble dealing with _you _getting chased for a bounty."

Wes grinned. "Hey, that's mean."

Gwyn giggled and hugged Flint. "Well, if he's becoming a knight, so am I! I don't want to be enemies with my fluffy bookworm." Flint blushed and turned away with an embarrassed smile.

"**Finally, I have a question for PokeMaster64: Out of all of the universes that you have created with your stories, which one is your favorite universe? And do you see that answer changing as the other universes continue to develop?**

**Happy Holidays!"**

"Happy Holidays, Austin." I rubbed my chin and pondered the question. "That's a good question. I think I lean more towards TSOTI's universe since I wouldn't last very long in an era like BOTF's. At least the world of magic has _some _technology and things to keep me occupied instead of the looming threat of my home being tarnished by bandits."

Jason nodded. "It's true."

"Thanks again, Austin. Enjoy the holidays." I pulled out the last scroll. "And finally, we have **1NF1N1TE L1GH7**, better known as **1NF1N1TE**. Great to have you again, 1NF1N1TE. Hope you're getting ready to celebrate the holidays. Personally, I'm enjoying the dread of finals and the stress of possible failure."

"Enjoying?" Quinn asked.

"The trauma takes a while to set in. Anyway, let's get onto the questions!"

"**Hey Brad, it is I! Just call me 1NFIN1TE again. Happy holidays to you and the OC's! As of right now, I only have a few things I wish to ask.**

**Dark and The Shadow King. The Kings of Evil. How would they interact if they were to meet? Who would win in a fight? What are your and the OC's thoughts? (The thought makes you quake in your boots, doesn't it?)"**

Ryder's mug shattered in his grip, startling Jade. "Ryder?"

"Sorry. Knee-jerk reaction."

"Oh boy," I mumbled. I cleared my throat and said, "That's certainly quite the loaded question. That might even be one of the fights if I ever decide on that Ultimate Arena spin-off. I do have Dark planned to fight one of my other villains, but that's a story for another time.

"So, here's the thing about Dark and the Shadow King. I _know _how that entire interaction would play out and who would win the fight. This is, of course, taking in certain factors and such. The thing to keep in mind, though, is that neither Dark nor the Shadow King have been fully developed yet. There is still a lot left to cover about their abilities.

"Dark, being the arrogant villain he is, wouldn't stand the idea of someone else claiming his title, not while he's the self-proclaimed God of Evil."

"_It's a pretty good name," _Laura mumbled sadly.

"So, more than likely, Dark would instigate the fight should they meet. Now, this could change in the future, but from what I know about how both these characters' abilities would be developed, Dark would stomp the Shadow King at full power.

"There's a lot of nuance I could discuss regarding regeneration, something they both possess, and there's a lot of other things about the Shadow King I haven't fully explored yet, but Dark was made to be this unstoppable villain. As the personification of evil, he makes it a point to be unstoppable. Dark has a vast array of recovery and evasion options, an offensive arsenal of attacks, and I don't even want to know what happens if he absorbs magic."

"That's a terrifying thought," Jade mumbled.

"Consider the fact, if Dark ever absorbs a Legendary Pokémon, he's going to get a little more than just their elemental energy." I crossed my arms. "Although, if any of you _are _interested in seeing Ultimate Arena, even if it doesn't get updated that often, I do have a few match-ups planned out with one somewhat completed."

"**You've said before that there's a few old stories you could rewrite, but have you actually been considering rewriting some of them from the ground up? The old deserves some love too! That's why Ryder won't cease his sass! (One of my fav charmeleons btw, treat him with more respect!)"**

"I definitely considered this with the original three: FTLOP, TAATP, and LITC. My writing was not the best when I first started out, though more so the last two. TAATP had a bunch of contrivances I wanted to touch up so it'd be an easier read. I was sort of basing events off of _another _FanFiction that inspired me to write it, just less…demonic elements. In fact, that's another thing I want to touch up: how I introduced Jango's demonic powers. Not the best explanation on my part."

"I have one right here," Ryder said, pulling out his tablet.

"Wait, no, no, no, no—!"

_"The nurse said it wasn't too serious and you will be perfectly fine, so long that you stay away from microwaves or anything else that causes radiation. Also, when I was looking over your scans, Jango's shown that he has the most radiation in his body and he was the least in pain than all of you."_

Ryder cut the clip short. "So, demons cause radiation poisoning?"

I covered my face and sighed. "I had to explain it somehow…"

"And it was hardly a problem later on."

"Shut up."

"Still waiting on that update to the short story."

I faced the camera annoyed. "You see what I have to deal with here?"

"Looks like that was the last of the questions," Melissa said.

I nodded and tossed the box away. "Thank you again to everyone who submitted. We got one more round of questions to go, as well as the sneak peek of some of BOTF's new characters."

"So, what's this big update you wanted to talk about?" Tamara asked.

"Good question. I wanted to bring this up sooner, but I feel here would be just as serviceable." I leaned back into my chair. "So, for both TSOTI and BOTF, I'm going to be doing something a little different with them. I'm sure most of you have noticed the absurd length of TSOTI."

"We all did," my OCs replied.

I groaned. "Thank you. Anyway, I've decided to do something to make up for the intimidating size of the story. We're reaching a halfway point, so to speak, with TSOTI. I plan on cutting the story in half and continuing it in a two-part continuation."

"Two parts?" Wes asked.

"It's kind of for thematic reasons, to make it more epic in a way. Trust me, it will make sense when I get to it. After a while, though, I get tired of trying to find what chapter I'm looking for whenever I need to refresh my memory, so starting from a new point will ease the burden a bit. This doesn't mean there will be a hiatus. It will continue as normal."

"And for BOTF?" Blitz asked.

"That will be broken up into separate parts. I don't know how many, but it will basically be their own separate, self-contained arcs full of mini arcs. This alleviates the intimidating word count I have with TSOTI, and gives its own unique element to my other stuff."

"Huh, that sounds pretty cool," Pandora hummed.

"It's own way of giving a mini break after a big mission finale. Also, I might end up changing future ratings to M-Rated."

"Why?" Marie asked.

"Uh…nothing _explicit, _but given some of the kingdoms…let's just say, after I talk about one of the antagonists and two particular knights in the next round, you'll realize there will be a lot of mature themes popping up from time to time. It will be an interesting adventure for everyone, that's for sure."

"Yikes," Flint sounded. "You really have been taking risks these days."

I sighed. "No kidding. I have been doing a lot of risky moves that I wouldn't have thought of doing in the beginning. Guess I'm testing my limits."

Laura smirked. _"When has that ever stop you?"_

"Heh, good point." I faced the camera. "Anyway, looking forward to what you all have to say next. I do want to get to the new BOTF characters as soon as possible, so try not to make the questions too elaborate. Take care!"


	3. Chapter 3

"Welcome back!" I announced, playing the stock applause in the background. "Final round of questions before we get to the big event of today! I'm looking forward to sharing some of my new characters to be revealed through BOTF! It's going to be awesome!"

Basil grinned. "Are they going to be as over the top as the rest of us?"

"Why wouldn't they be? Now, let's get those new scrolls out and start."

"Here you go!" I jumped and yelped out of my seat as Basil, SOMEHOW, popped up from behind the armchair with a new crate of scrolls. "Happy to help." He whistled and took his seat on the couch again.

I held my heart and panted heavily. "Quit doing that!"

"Never!"

I sighed and pulled out a scroll. "Forget what I said about Laura. _Basil _will be the death of me." I unfurled the scroll. "Alright, looks like we're starting off with **Drifter77.** Let's see what you got."

"**Hey everyone, Drifter77 here again. I'm here with several more questions about your worlds and their inhabitants. I hope you don't mind.**

**All worlds  
What are the current laws on move and abilities usage in your world?"**

"Well, generally speaking, you're prohibited from using your moves and abilities in public, kind of in the same vein of using weapons out in public. Typically, aside from battlefields, you can use them to assist with jobs and such. It's why some of my Pokémon worlds tend to be more advance than the human world since they can do things more efficiently than others."

Tamara raised her hand. "To add on to that, it can be illegal depending on what you do. For instance, using Attract or some other infatuation-based move to commit _unlawful _actions."

Wes blinked twice at her. "You sound like you've seen this before."

"Spaz is working to be a private investigator, and he has told me some seriously messed up stories from other investigators."

I nodded. "Yeah, that's a pretty obvious example."

**ToF **

"**What is the current status on Albert Gates, Randy, Cade and his family, Vivi's former family, and Ivan Faust?"**

Juniper sipped her soda and said, "Albert Gates is currently locked up in a maximum security prison for conspiring with Faust, along with his other crimes my assassin friends spilled. He's not getting out for a _long _time. Cade's doing fine, same with his family. They've been spending more time together lately."

"Who the heck is Randy?" Quinn asked.

"Different character," I said. "And Randy is currently running Eddie's bar after…well, suddenly claiming ownership of it." I rubbed my chin. "Then again, I don't that's how trading ownership works. Anyway, Vivi's family is…I don't know, same as usual. Maybe they've heard about Vivi over the news. They're kind of unimportant at this point.

"And, of course, Faust is still held up in Fusion Hunter HQ and won't be getting out for a long time."

**TSotI **

"**When can we meet Faye's family and what changes in setting can we expect?"**

"I don't really have anything planned for meeting Faye's family as they're not all that important to the story. Maybe in a side story or something. Changes to the setting? New locations mostly, along with some specific changes to the team's adventure."

**BotF**

"**Can you tell me the full list of the Forester's sacred laws?"**

"So, there are 7 Sacred Laws of the Foresters, which are followed with strict discipline. They go as follows:

_1\. A Forester never abandons their own. To abandon one's comrade in the face of peril or desperation is a sin that will never be forgiven._

_2\. A Forester never travels alone. To stray from the path without the aid of an ally is an act of foolishness that must not be encouraged._

_3\. Should a Forester ever be captured, all able Foresters must use their combined strength to save them. No matter how small or important, a single ally means losing a huge part of the team._

_4\. A Forester never claims a life of another, no matter their sins._

_5\. An exception to Sacred Law 4, a Forester may only claim a life should the individual in question be a threat to the lives of all._

_6\. A Forester must never prey on the weak and helpless. Those of great wealth and power can overcome, those of low status cannot._

_7\. A Forester must pick and choose their fights. Never assume you can win any fight, but the ones you are prepared for._

"These were developed by Jason specifically to achieve a strict moral code within the group."

Jason nodded. "It's true."

**Brad**

**Do you have any fan art of your characters? If so, where do we find it? And can you tell us a list of all the ToF and/or tsoti characters with their last names, moves and abilities? Thank you and have a merry Christmas!**

"As far as I know, I don't have any fanart. None that I know of. I did make a drawing of Laura at one point, though."

"_My perfection can never be captured with your shabby art talents," _Laura taunted.

I rolled my eyes. "As for your second question…listen Drifter, I'm fine with answering questions, but I have a limit. Listing that many characters and those specific points would just be unnecessary padding. I really don't have the patience to dig through all my files. Also, not all my TOF characters have official last names. I'm sure people have a general idea of the moves these characters use, anyway. Sorry.

"Anyway, I hope you have a Merry Christmas, Drifter. Take care, enjoy the hot cocoa and all that." I pulled out the next scroll. "Next up, we've got **Ninetales29**, someone I often chat with and give advice to. Nice to have you here, Ninetales. Always glad to answer your questions. Let's see what you have here."

"**Hey Brad, been a while, I started college too and finished my first semester. Anyway between writing all these story's and life stuff, how much do you write a day?"**

"Not often I get questions like this. Well, I tend to run on a schedule when I write. I try to do two hours a day, once a 4 o'clock, then once a 1 o'clock at night. You'd be surprised how much you can get done in two hours. By the way, I saw one of your other questions on PM, but I think I already answered it for you. Hopefully that helps. Hope you have a wonderful day and a Merry Christmas."

I pulled out the next scroll. "Okay, who do we have next? Looks like it's **Void Reader **again, and…" I unfurled the scroll, then sighed. "Oh boy, this again."

"Let me guess," Ella started with a raised brow.

"Yep." I cleared my throat and began.

"**No fun. :( So the Gala Party trend was the last? At least complete the Hello Nurse trend with Ella's maid costume. My design preferly. Hope u don't actually quit writing on Fanfiction, u got some fans here in need of stories to read. Heck, I will still be writing here even after I get a job. Got so much to share here. Still looking forward to the sequels. What do u mean TSOTI is going to be a two part? ':( Does that mean I have to wait for another sequel of the series? I would like to read it on one fanfic. Also, Dragon Ball n JoJo I don't watch, I really watch Fairy Tail, Sword Art Online, Irregular at Magic High School for magic references. Hope to find more. When will u be finishing Ryder's Fear? Cause Ruder still needs to learn of the 'gray area' between good n evil. I know because I kinda represent both in balance. If he doesn't learn then he can never defeat Dark, physical or mental. Ryder could become the most powerful OC u created if he learns to master his current powers. I get that more matured contents would be prompted, but gore n perverted scenes can still be within T rated, right. Also don't know what u reference that Ditto con artist from. Also, the BOTF girls can still be cute in maid suits, n there can be more skimpier outfits to dream of n hope to see be used. See CHOYOYU, one dress in particular I would like to see Melissa try.**

**My bad, I meant nurse costume! Seriously, please do. That chick is the prime of hot delicious women. Gwyn should follow her example, but she has her own charm.**

**Oh yeah, what is this Ultimate Arena? N what r the TOF characters doing now? The whole cast, from Geppai villagers, Rougues, Renegade, Fusion Hunters, even the minor casts."**

I pinched between my eyes. "Okay, future notice, everyone. I can only answer so much, so do try to keep your questions to a minimum. I really should've stuck to that three question limit I did last time.

"I'm sorry, Void, but I'm not doing anymore scenes like that. They wouldn't exactly be appropriately timed. And frankly, not much place for BOTF aside from a few formal parties. And again, like Marie said, they don't exactly where revealing clothes like that.

"I don't intend to quit, but things do change if I start a career in writing. I do want to finish off TSOTI and BOTF before then, but I can't make promises in the late future. Also, speaking of TSOTI, I think you misunderstood. I'm not making a squeal, but a second part to it. It's literally going to continue on a normal schedule, I just want to cut the size down a bit. Same with BOTF. I don't when I'll continue with _Ryder's Fear, _hopefully soon.

"As for the Ditto con artist, JoJo, and where her name came from…you said the reference yourself, I don't think I need to explain where she got her name from. Also, the future rating change. Void, I can assure you, the reasons for the changes are a bit more severe than perversion and gore. I will never flat out say it, but it's heavily implied, especially when I get to talking about a certain pair of characters later.

"Now, as for Ultimate Arena, that's a bit of a fun side project for when I get more characters developed. Think of it as Death Battle, but no killing…sometimes. It's basically pitting my characters against each other and seeing who would come out on top. Also, I'm not going to go into extensive detail about all those characters because that would take forever. Rest assured, they're either doing fine or they're in prison, specifically the Renegades and Faust.

"Thanks again, Void. And please try to keep your questions limited next year. Have a great Christmas." I reached for another scroll. "Okay, next we've got an occasional reviewer on my stuff, **JDunks890. **Great to hear from you, JDunks. Let's see what you've got for us today."

"**Pretty sure I missed the last one of these, so it's good that I got this one! Now, onto the important stuff: **

**Melissa, I want your honest opinion on your father. What do you think of him as a ruler and parent?"**

Melissa scratched behind her head. "Before I knew about the things my father has been doing, I looked up to him as an adequate leader of the kingdom. He runs it well, so I cannot fault him on that, but it is hard to justify his actions after hearing some of the horrible things going on in the neighboring villages, of any kingdom for that matter. Makes me wonder if the Tetrarchs or Talbots have done anything like that."

"All answers that will come in due time," I assured her.

"**Pandora (I think? I'm not good at keeping all the names straight), let me know if you need funding for that time machine project. It could have some potential uses. No, I'm not rich. I'm just on really good terms with a pack of Meowth."**

Pandora grinned. "You have my attention, JDunks. I'm interested in your offer. In exchange, I may give you a valuable position in my evil empire when I take over Virdis. Perhaps head of marketing to mass produce my visage across Virdis!"

I facepalmed. "Not another one." Laura snickered in the background.

"**Also, if that Ultimate Arena story is what I think it is, can I request Jet VS Griffin with Jet winning? Griffin, you're awesome and powerful, but it would just be too funny if the tiny otter could knock a magical swordsman onto his rear. Sorry…"**

"Good thing neither of them are here," I mumbled before answering, "All's well and good, but I do want to try and do these legitimately. That would likely only come up in a joke match, but I'm not sure how I feel if that was either of their first match."

"**Flint: What was the Immensus Library like? I really like books and that place sounds like paradise."**

"Oh Arceus, where do I even begin!" Flint exclaimed. "It has literally every record and book, or even idea, conceived into an infinite space. The entire history of Mysto packed under thousands of years of development. By the time you've reached your hundreds, you wouldn't even scratch the one percent of the content contained in it, especially as it keeps infiniting expanding its inventory! Man, once we get it back from the Shadow King, I'm definitely visiting there at least once a month!"

Gwyn giggled. "And that's why you're a fluffy bookworm."

"I stand proudly by that name!"

"**And last question: What exactly is the Bestia Lacerna? Ava mentioned it and Wes used it, but that's all we got other than the fact that it's a combat avatar from Kane Chronicles.**

**That's pretty much it. Thanks, all! (Seriously, Pandora, make that thing.)"**

I shrugged. "Going off that logic alone, that's pretty much what it is. It essentially generates a large avatar for Wes to use, adding a layer of physical strength, magical empowerment, reach, and protection. Wes would even be able to manifest parts of it for combat if he needed to. It's functionally like a Guardian, but bigger, stronger, but less precise and agile." I smiled. "Hope I answered your questions effectively."

"Still waiting for that contact info!" Pandora exclaimed.

"I don't need two evil OCs running amuck!" I yelled angrily. I breathed out, then grabbed the next scroll. "I'm surrounded by crazies. Okay, next is a short one from **Pikachu47. **Might as well get this one out of the way."

"**Promise me that you would finish BOTF and TFONL before you leave the fanfiction"**

"I can't make any promises, but I'll try my best to get both this works done." I shrugged. "Who knows what the future holds? I might have time to do this on the side if I'm lucky. We'll see in time, but I'll do what I can. Hope you have a wonderful holiday." I picked out the next scroll. "Alright, another short entry by **pokefan123. **Hope you're having a good day. Whatcha' got?"

"**Hey Brad, what are the shippings (major and minor) that you are going to include in BOTF?"**

"Well, one is kind of obvious, Jason and Melissa."

"Again, what?" Melissa questioned.

"The rest, however, are entering spoiler territory. There really isn't a heavy focus on shipping in this story. The only minor one I can bring up is Eadwulf and Pandora."

Pandora sighed dreamily. "Eadwulf~." The Foresters rolled their eyes.

"Like I said, some of them are being kept secret. For instance, both Sadie and Erasmus have mentioned secret lovers, but I wouldn't want to spoil that. That's for the future. Have a Happy Holidays." I grabbed the next scroll. "Next, we've got **1NF1N1TE L1GH7**, who also wanted me to include something he forgot to add. Alright, let's see what's first."

"**Before I say anything else, I just want to say FYI that I'm in full support of the ultimate arena spin-off. I love these characters and I'm a sucker for competition. On the topic of the characters, there's something that I want to say to Brad...**

**Thank you for all of these amazing stories that you put so much effort into, even with how busy your life can get. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to create these characters full of life and personality. Thank you for sharing your ideas and wild imagination to help spark inspiration and creativity in others. I've discovered you on Fanfiction about two years ago and TAATP was one of your first stories that I read and It's incredible how much your storytelling has improved and how much you've grown. I've adored Pokemon since my childhood, and my love for it has grown dramatically since reading your magnificent and thrilling stories. I'm sure that you and your readers see that you have a great future ahead and that I and others will support wherever you go in life. Just thank you. (Wonder if he'll tear up? Haha) 'Til next time, happy holidays everyone!"**

Everyone looked at me oddly as I curled up in my armchair and sobbed into my arms. "Don't look at me! I'm having an emotional episode!"

Marie flicked a candy cane at my curled body. "Safe to say he appreciated the thought, 1NF1N1TE." She snatched the scroll from me and opened it. "Okay, as for this additional text you wanted to add."

"**Oh yeah, I was considering whether I should bring this up now or save it because mentioning one match up for one christmas special might be enough, but to heck with it.**

**Amanda vs. Melissa. Grace and Willpower. Which one would come out triumphant in a battle? (BATTLE, not fight, there's a difference. Or a fight would be cool too)**

**One more thing I forgot to mention, could you please talk about my actual review in chapter 2 before that match-up if it's not too much to ask? That was supposed to be the intended order. XD Can't wait to see what you have to say. :)"**

Ryder raised his hand and took over. "Thing is, 1NF1N1TE, it would be kind of a hassle to rewrite the other chapter of the special since Brad is pressed for time on these. Yes, it would be a simple fix, but a lot of people would likely end up not seeing it anyway. So, despite what Brad said, it would be easier just to include your review here than in the previous bit. Hope you understand."

"Now, as for this little bit regarding Amanda vs. Melissa," Pandora suddenly cut in excitedly, "I'm looking forward to this idea! I happen to be one of the hosts for Ultimate Arena, and I think this is a brilliant idea! Once Amanda and Melissa get more developed, it'll sure to be an epic match!"

Basil walked past me as I continued to emotionally cry on the armchair. He rolled his eyes, took a scroll, and walked back to the others. "Uh…have a good Christmas, 1NF1N1TE. Brad wishes you well, I'm sure." He unfurled the scroll. "Next is **Guest**, though I'm not sure if this is from someone else and just forgot to identify their name. Oh whatever, let's read."

"**Sorry, but I forgot to ask, how can you balance Pokémon using their moves between using weapons? Once again, merry Christmas."**

"Well, it's quite simple," I suddenly said.

Everyone jumped. "Holy me, you recovered quickly!" Gwyn exclaimed.

"In something like TSOTI, I just disregard the moves in general due to the changing culture of Mysto, with obvious exceptions like Ella. BOTF is a different story all together. Considering not all Pokémon can do one thing over the other, like say use Smokescreen instead of using smoke bombs, it's more a matter of what's more appropriate to the scene. Plus, the characters will often utilize their moves more creatively rather than firing them off and hoping someone gets knocked out. It's a simple process, but it's really just what I feel is more thematic to the scene. If that's not enough of an answer, then I just go with whatever and hope it turns out well."

"_You have absolutely no idea what you're doing, do you?" _Laura accused.

"Not one bit!" I admitted proudly. She facepalmed.

Basil chuckled. "Well, since you've recovered, how about we tackle the other **Guest**?" He tossed me the scroll.

"Right-o! And thank you to the previous Guest. Hope you have a wonderful Christmas." I unfurled the new scroll.

"**Hello again, here are my other questions:**

**For Brad: if you could invent a new tipe of Pokemon, what would it be?"**

"That's a loaded question right there. I haven't given it much thought. What would I want in a Pokémon?" I tapped my chin. "Maybe a jack-o-lantern hound? A black dog with a flaming pumpkin head. Although, if you're actually asking what Type I would introduce, I would say something like Light-Type, and make it weak against Ice-Types. Why? Because Ice-Types seriously need better resistance coverage."

"**For those of BOTF: if they could bring a current thing to their world It be?"**

"The cellphone and whatever's used to transmit signals," Jason answered immediately. "Communicating through letter takes time. Just having the ability to make calls from anywhere at anytime would be a serious upgrade to our guild. We would have the advantage in communication by a landslide."

Marie nodded. "He's not wrong. It would be the most useful thing for the Foresters to acquire."

"**For Pokémon and Fusions: what do you think of real world animales?**

**Well these aré my questions, l hope you do well, bye!"**

Quinn raised his claw. "Take the reaction some people had regarding Mr. Rime, and you'll have our answer for our feelings on that."

"Seriously, the bears in your world look _super _weird," Juniper said. "Where's the moon markings? Where's the bipedal pandas that know how to fight? Where are the cute pandas with cute swirly eyes? What is wrong with your world's animal kingdom?"

"The cats are pretty much the same," Tamara mumbled.

Jade rubbed her chin. "Actually, aren't there fish in the Pokémon Anime world? There were some in the first few episodes, right?"

I chuckled a bit. "Eh, welcome to our world, guys. Anyway Guest, thanks for your questions. Hope you have a good holiday." I pulled out the next scroll. "And our next reviewer is **UmbreMoon**. Great to have you with us. Let's get to the question."

"**Will Wes and Ella become a official couple in later chapter of the secret idol? Will there be a possibility to see their lives after the story? Like with their family and future kids. (I also wanna see if Gywn went along with those 5-7 kids I think I remember she said nwn)"**

"Wait, they aren't a couple now?" Blitz asked. "I thought they were."

Wes and Ella chuckled sheepishly, the former stating, "We're…testing the waters before we officially get back together. Maybe soon, who knows?"

"You got back together quite nicely in the hotel," Flint said sassily.

"You are _never _going to let me live that down, are you?!" Wes yelled.

"Not one bit."

I continued, "I do intend to do something like that near the end since this series does have a certain theme of family to it. Though, I'm not going into detail regarding kids just yet."

Gwyn giggled. "I still want those five kids." Flint shuttered, turning white as a sheet.

"Everything happens in time. Hopefully soon, because I do have side stuff planned for when TSOTI ends. Hope you have a good holiday, UmbreMoon." I took the next scroll. "Ooh, now we're getting into the big ones. Up next, one of the winning contributors to the BOTF OC contest, please welcome **AvalonArrival**, creator of Ragnarok 'Ragger' Recke."

"That's a lot of Rs," Tamara said.

"Yes, yes it is."

Jason sighed. "I can't say I approve of Ragger's behavior, but I can't deny his talent for battle. With some proper direction, I'm sure he will make a fine Forester in the future, provided he doesn't try to get everyone in the base drunk."

Melissa sighed. "He has already gotten to me on a few occasions."

"Heh, he'll do that. Anyway, let's get on with the reading."

"**Alrighty suppose I should put down my own questions while we're doing this. Currently the only story I read is BOTF so all of my questions will be directed at them. (TSOTI I tried once a long long time ago, was little too weird and hard to visualize for me. Not your fault, just not my cup of tea). That said, let's get going!"**

"It's all good, I understand. TSOTI does get pretty weird after a while and, admittedly, some things are a bit too kinetic to visualize."

"**You, bunny girl. According to my sources (which are almost never wrong) your species, Buneary, when caught hate their trainer's guts from day 1. But they don't just hate them, they do it with the strength of imprisoned GODS. How does this make you feel? Does this affect you? And is this a common trait among normal Buneary?"**

Melissa, quite taken aback, looked around the room. "Uh…I would not know anything about this _trainer _thing you mentioned, but I do not recall an instance to be born with pent up aggression. I-I am sorry, where did you get this information from? I am not a hateful Buneary, I promise."

"Your temper tantrum over Jet says otherwise," Marie joked.

"Hush!" Melissa covered her head. "If I ever see my nurse again, I really need to ask if I have ever been a difficult baby. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear…"

Pandora snickered. "Congrats Avalon, you broke her."

"**You, magic(k) gypsy fire lizard, I'm onto you. My ancestors called it magic(k), I call it science, I don't know HOW you manage to use thief without physical contact with an opponent/thing but I'm pretty sure that's how you do your item little appearing and disappearing acts. Beside that, I'm interested in how the whole Salazzle Salandit thing works where you're from. With you know, Salazzle typically controlling reverse harems of Salandit."**

Basil smirked, leaning his cheek onto his fist. "A bold claim to make when I'm sitting in the same room as three other magic users." Jason and Blitz rolled their eyes.

Flint raised his paw. "I mean, technically, magic is a science in our universe, just with a few fundamental elements not common among other realms. See, magic is believed to have originated by the power of the Legendaries when they first formed Mysto, the one true land. I actually did a research paper about this." He grabbed Wes' bag and started digging through it.

Wes blinked. "Why did you bring a research paper with us? Further note, why did you stuff it in my bag?"

Basil waved his hand. "But let's move onto the Salazzle question. Ah yes, a common practice found in the old days. My grandmother actually had her own harem of Salandits, and other creatures she charmed with her wiles…and pheromones. Lots and lots of pheromones."

"You are _admitting _this?!" Melissa gasped.

"Lucky lady~," Marie purred.

"My mother didn't take up the practice. Funnily enough, my mother did say there was a certain branch of the Salandit line where the males _could _evolve. But we don't know what happened to that branch of the species, so us males are stuck with these bodies for the rest of our lives." Basil grinned. "As for me, I'm pretty much immune to the effects of a Salazzle's pheromones. I work quite a lot with different types of smoke and gases." Basil winked.

"What's with the wink?" Pandora asked.

"No reason~."

"**You, adorably evil Growlithe. You have explosives, but have you considered what you could do with them? Try taking some gunpowder and packing it down in the bottom of a small short metal barrel, then putting something down the barrel on top of the gunpowder, like a small metal ball. Then light the gunpowder. I assure you the result will be most diabolical and satisfactory.**

**Happy Christmas! Merry Hanukkah! Avalon over and out."**

Pandora smirked. "You know, I'm well aware you're referring to guns, but I like the way you think." She then pouted. "Jason, however, banned me from joining in the production of them. Something about 'going against our morals and ethics'."

"Pandora, I'm right here," Jason said.

Pandora smirked again and rubbed her paws together. "But I am working on making a new type of explosive. Shade and I are going to make _history_!"

"Better not be a nuke," I grumbled.

"What's a nuke?" she asked.

"Forget I said anything!" I yelled.

"_A nuke is—" _Laura started to say until I threw a hatchet into the TV, cutting off the signal.

Everyone stared at me wide-eyed while I stared at the broken television with a blank face. I felt my phone rang. I picked it up and received a video message from an annoyed Laura.

"_Not cool," _she grumbled.

"I'm not giving the most unhinged member of the Foresters the idea of nuclear warfare," I whispered through grit teeth.

"_Why did you even have a hatchet?"_

"None of your business." I set the phone down on the coffee table and sighed. "Uh, sorry for that, Avalon. Anyway, have a good…whatever you celebrate! Happy Holidays!" I rubbed my face and sat back in my armchair. "You all drive me nuts."

"We aren't even the full roster of your characters," Ryder teased.

"I have the files to prove it," I groaned. I grabbed the next scroll. "Alright, next we have **Damon Wolf Cub. **Wow, been forever since I last heard from you. Has it really been two years? Hope you're doing well." I cracked my knuckles. "Alright, what do you have to say for us today?"

"**Hope I'm not too late to ask my questions. Hey, Brad! It's been...almost two years since we last had any sort of interaction...**

**...  
... Anyway, (speaking of not interacting) I haven't really... read anything you've uploaded since, like, chapter...four-ish, I think? Maybe? of TSOTI, so I'm a bit lost. Mostly, I just sort of fell out of my Pokemon mood for a disturbing number of months and my next few Pokemon moods were spent more on my own stories, like the one I told you about all that time ago.**

**So, since I can't really ask about the current stories, I guess I'll just ask about you and some of the stuff that's been brought up in this particular special. If that's okay, at least. If not, you can just ignore me."**

"It's all good, Damon. I get what you mean. I'm cool with questions directed at me, anyway. Nice to reveal a little bit more about myself."

"**About this "Ultimate Arena", I've gotta say I'm definitely interested. My friend Sai has a similar fic he calls Random Rumbles, and I was actually thinking of something similar myself, called Destined Battles. Neither of those are OC-centric though, they're more about canon characters like Wonder Woman or Street Fighter's Ryu.**

**Anyway, my question for that story is, can other people's OCs participate? Specifically, as in the versions portrayed in your stories, like this Leon character in BOTF, or Kerian and SkyArrow's LITC versions. For the record, I'm okay with my characters losing. I know Jango or Ryder would wipe the floor with either version of Keri, and Sky's more glass than cannon in any universe, especially a more normal Sky. But knowing the result doesn't make it any less fun to watch! It could be inspiring, really."**

"I have read Sai's stuff before. That was a long time ago. I think that's where I got the inspiration to do this, aside from the obvious Death Battle inspiration. I'm just leaving out the death part for…obvious bias.

"As for letting OCs participate, it might be a necessity since a lot of the good fights I want to do require more development on existing characters. There's some fun matches I want to do with characters like Warp from the TFONL universe and a new character planned for TAATP. I might even allow character submissions, though I do want them to be fairly balanced and thematically similar. For example, that theoretical battle with Warp and the TAATP character would be a battle of the combat teleporters. Thematic matches like that. If I do take in submissions or use the OCs given for stories, I would need an opponent that works with them.

"Take Leon as another example. I could either have him fight another defensive opponent, or go with the classic Spear vs. Shield trope. Those are the matches I would want to bring to Ultimate Arena."

"**If you do re-write LITC, would it be okay to make some slight additions to Kerian and SkyArrow for those stories? Nothing major, I'd just like to add in some backstory details for them, partially to help differentiate LITC and my own story.**

**And, if you don't re-write it, would it be okay to adopt it? I really like it for generally being more lighthearted compared to your other stories, and I'd hate to just see it die like so many other great stories on this site. This way would let it continue without forcing you to try to write something you don't want to or in a way you aren't good/comfortable with. Though I'll understand if you refuse.**

**Sorry if my questions are a little lame or frustrating. Like I said, I have...waaaay too much catching up to do to come up with questions for the OCs themselves or about the newer stories' lore and such."**

"I wouldn't mind updates on Kerian and SkyArrow. They would be appreciated if I wanted to take LITC in an updated direction. Now, as for adopting the story and changing ownership, that's a good question.

"I do have ideas for the story, but lost the drive to continue it. The episodic nature didn't quite work with me, and I didn't want to eventually do tired high school plots found in sitcoms. However, I don't object the idea of passing ownership. I would at the very least give the basic ideas that were planned for down the road, but leave it in the creative hands of whoever takes over. As of now, no, but maybe when I finally get my life in order.

"Anyway, it's all good. Like I said, these kinds of questions are nice to get when they come. Thanks a lot, Damon, and I hope you have a wonderful holiday." I pulled out the next scroll. "Next is **mikepeashooter**."

"_Woo! My homey!" _Laura cheered.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh brother…"

"**Hey! It's me your friendly Peab again! first off, I wanna say that Laura. I'd be down to sign that resume! I can be very helpful, I've studied arts of healing by using plants and i can even make some enhancements for your robotic body! your tail sword? let's upgrade it to a Z-saber-like tail! I call it the "L-saber", based off of your name."**

"_You sir have a deal!" _Laura exclaimed. _"We can discuss the details after the show. I see great things for you in the future."_

"Laura, don't you dare!" I yelled.

"_I dare, good sir! I dare!" _Laura broke out into laughter.

"**now anyway, this is a weird second question but, Brad, Which of your ocs would you pick to be a fighter in Smash Bros.? and what would their moveset be?"**

"Not the first time I considered that." I looked over the present OCs and rubbed my chin. "Hard pick, but I think I would go with…Tamara."

Tamara grinned. "Really?"

"You'd likely be a fast, lightweight character. I'm obviously not going to go into intricate detail on the neutral attacks and grabs, but specials are interesting.

"Her neutral special would likely be Water Shuriken, much like Greninja, but without the power increase. I could see you charging it up and releasing multiple shurikens at once to rack up the damage. Her side special would be her Fusion Move, Stinger Wave. Same idea as Water Shuriken, but it would have an explosive knockback that could KO opponents. Up special would be Aerial Ace, allowing Tamara to get some major height and deal damage before going into freefall. Down special could either be Agility or Rain Dance. Agility to boost her speed temporarily or Rain Dance to increase the power of her specials within a certain radius.

"Final Smash would have her kick an opponent in the air, turn into her Fusion Mode, then craft the famous Azure Storm Shuriken. As an added bonus, her boyfriend, Spaz, would join in since he's usually there to electrify the massive shuriken. They would throw it at the airborne opponent and deal massive damage on screen.

"Not sure if this is an adequate moveset for Smash, but it's the best I can come up with."

"**and next question to Ryder, how's Jade doin? hope you two are doing great and not worrying about the big bad that's pretty much gonna a big threat soon."**

Ryder smiled and held Jade's hand. "She's doing fine. We've been reconnecting ever since the events of the Forest of No Light."

She nodded. "We've been mostly traveling with Ash and his friends. It's nice to relax for once, even if there's a lot of time spent training. But hey, I missed those days, so I don't mind."

Ryder clenched his fist. "The less I hear about Dark, the better, too."

"**and finally last question for all of the ocs, what's the greatest thing you ever want in the whole world?**

**Now that's all i have to ask, hope you all have a merry Christmas!  
from~Mike (A.K.A. Cappy)**

**P.S. Keep on the good mischief, Laura!"**

"_You got it, Mike!" _Laura exclaimed.

I sighed and pinched between my eyes. "Like I said, it would be monotonous to have everyone say their piece, but there's a select few worth mentioning."

Jason nodded. "As it stands, we of the Foresters don't seek much more than peaceful lives for ourselves and our families. That's all we could ever ask for." The Foresters nodded in agreement.

Melissa smiled. "All I want to is to help my kingdom and the kingdoms beyond so that we can bring peace back to Virdis."

Juniper raised her cola. "More cola!"

Tamara facepalmed. "That's all you ask for!"

"And I stick to my guns!"

Tamara huffed. "Well, obviously, I want to become the greatest hero known in the world. It's a slow process, but I will get my name out there and be recognized for my feats."

Flint smiled. "I want to follow my dreams of becoming an archeologist."

"And Flinty and I are getting married!" Gwyn exclaimed.

"What?!" Flint gasped, going deep red.

Gwyn rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, you practically agreed to it when we confessed."

"I was just humoring you!"

She giggled. "Sure you were~."

Flint glared at Ella. "I blame you for this."

Ella smirked. "I apologize for nothing."

I laughed. "Safe to say, I think everyone's got a pretty good idea of what they want most. We're all pretty content with the lives we're leading, so what more could you want? Sorry if that wasn't exactly what you were expecting, but going through so many OCs at once would drag things out. Anyway, I hope you have a great Christmas, Mike."

"_We'll meet over coffee and oil," _Laura added. _"Or, in your case, water and sunshine."_

"Laura, stop!"

"_Never!"_

I facepalmed as I pulled out the next scroll. "Next." I unfurled it. "Ah, my good pal, **Mysteryals. **Let's see what you've got for us now."

"**Still new to this...not sure how everything works here still...Sorry."**

"All's good, Mystery, all's good."

"**But okay, one question to the TOF crew and one for PokeMaster64/Brad.**

**To the TOF crew, if the Gappei Village Fusion had, like, a kind of family reunion party for all the villagers, would you all picture happening at one of those?"**

Quinn crossed his arms. "Well, considering when something like that would be planned, I think the first thing that'll happen is all of us getting drunk."

"Oh, no kidding," Tamara agreed. "A party full of happy drunks reuniting after going about their new lives. I imagine some of us would've settled down by then."

"Like you and Spaz~?" Juniper teased.

Tamara blushed and rolled her eyes. "Don't push it, missy. I've seen how flirty you get with Wash."

"I love messing with him. I'm thinking of pulling a little prank on him when I get home. Some seductive music in the background, rose petals on the floor and bed, showing a little leg from the bathroom—"

"Is this a prank or a private tape you're filming?" Quinn asked in disgust.

Juniper rolled her eyes. "I'm not finishing yet. Then, when I have him where I want him, I come out wearing a clown costume!" She laughed and slapped her knee. "Oh, he's going to have some weird feelings after that!"

Quinn sighed. "Only you, Juniper. But yeah, it would be a grand get-together to see how everyone's doing. Talking, games, food; might as well just call it the new and improve Gappei Festival Reunion." Quinn paused, then rubbed his chin. "Actually, that's not a bad idea."

Juniper grinned. "Can't wait to see if anyone started families, too. So many cute kids. Oh, and see how Harper and the other children are doing. Man, it's going to be weird seeing them grownup."

"Can't imagine what my kid with Spaz would be like," Tamara muttered.

"Did he propose yet?" Juniper teased. Tamara shoved a muffin in her mouth and hid her red face.

"**For PM64, so, you plan to split The Idol story into a second story? ...I may not have understood all of what you said about that topic. My bad. But going back to the split, it would make sense, what with the chapter count you have."**

"Admittedly, it could've been explained better since it seemed to also confuse Void a bit. Essentially, I'm splitting the story up to cut down on the insane length. It'll make searching for reference material easier, and I rather not intimidate people with how huge TSOTI is. A fresh, thematic new start to the story, especially with the new direction coming up soon. When that happens? Well, I did have to announce this for a reason, so…soon."

"**Merry Christmas to you and your OCs!"**

"Merry Christmas, Mysteryals!" everyone and I cheered.

"Hope you have a good Christmas, buddy," I added. I brought out the next scroll. "Down to the last two. Next is **austintodd315. **Let's get to it!"

"**I wasn't expecting TSOTI to be split up, but I suppose it makes sense given how long that the story is. I don't have a problem with the length but I can understand why it might be an issue. I'm interested in how BOTF's multiple parts will impact the structure of the story."**

"It is mostly for my benefit and any newcomers who eventually come across it. While it's a nice thought, I'm not aiming to challenge the record of Subspace Emissary's Worlds Conquest's word count. _That _has a menacing word count right there. BOTF's structure will be fun. Different arcs and main villains or goals to worry with. We're closing in on the main plot of the first arc shortly."

"**Anyway, I'm not sure if these count as questions or not, but I definitely love the idea of your Arena crossover, and there are a couple of fights that I would personally love to see:**

**SPOILER WARNING:**

**The first one would be The Heralds Of Darkness fighting against The Shadow King. I doubt this is a realistic situation, and I'm definitely not sure how Team Ravenfield would react to such a fight, but I think that it would be very cathartic in a very ironic way, especially if The Heralds somehow manage to win."**

"I wouldn't dismiss the idea quite yet."

"We would!" Team Ravenfield exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes. "Of course, the question becomes how a fight like that would go. Would it be set in the pass where the Heralds were still mostly amicable or would it have Morgan teaming up with them to challenge the Shadow King. Or would it be a battle royale for everyone—ah, who am I kidding, it would be better for the Heralds to team up than fight for themselves. Still, I'll consider it."

"**The second one would be Lord Dark VS Data. With the great variety of abilities in play, I personally think that it would be the perfect matchup."**

"Hahaha, what do you think the first match I thought of was?"

"Jango vs. me?" Ryder guessed.

"…Okay, _second _match I thought of."

"Juniper vs. Valentine?" Blitz guessed.

"I haven't even showcased Valentine that much yet!" I sighed and rubbed my face. "Moving on."

"**Anyway, I have one more question. If you were to take one of your other villains from any of your stories and make them a Herald Of Darkness, what kind of Herald would they be and how would their presence effect the dynamic between the already existing Heralds?"**

"Hmm…the obvious choice would be Dark, but I'm not sure if Dark would allow himself to be forced under someone's rule. Though, not to say a cunning snake wouldn't benefit from the power. I'd say Fang, the Dark Gliscor, would take on an interesting role as a Herald of Darkness.

"Fang could be a Reaper of Darkness, given I've established his motif as a malevolent reaper who seeks absolute subjugation over his subjects through the fear of a swift death. Fang as a herald would add a new dynamic. Aeternus is the mad genius, Voss is the lone warrior seeking a final challenge, and Callista is reaching towards her personal objectives of godhood through her pact with the demons.

"Fang, however, would be the one to try and usurp power from the Shadow King, similar to his ambitions against Dark. Whether or not he succeeds is entirely up to speculation, but he would likely be the more cowardly, but craftiest of the heralds."

"**I always look forward to reading these stories and I definitely cannot wait to see where they go in the future. Also, I just realized that it's been about a year since Melissa first appeared in the previous Christmas Special. Time really does fly, doesn't it?**

**P.S: Basil is the coolest Forester.**

**Anyway, Happy Holidays to all of you!"**

Basil grinned. "A man with good taste."

I laughed. "I guess you have a point. Feel's like yesterday I introduced Melissa, now look where she is."

Melissa sighed. "It has been a rough year for adjustment."

"It's only been two months for you."

"Two months?!" she cried.

I shook my head and grinned. "Anyway, have a Merry Christmas, Austin. Best wishes from all of us."

"Merry Christmas!" the OCs exclaimed.

I reached for the last scroll. "And last, but certainly not least, is **AllKorean.** After this, we can get to the fun part. Let's read."

"**Glad to hear that Leon is doing well. With the way I planned his character when writing him... well let's just say you're in for a fun ride, Melissa! *Cough* Good luck! *Cough*"**

Melissa frowned. "Thank you, that really raises my spirits…"

I chuckled. "Given the recent update you made on Leon, Melissa's in for quite a roller coaster."

"**Anyways, I was expecting an arc split with TSOTI given its length with my previous review, but I'm quite interested in the splitting of BOTF into its own arcs. Almost reminds me of how a lot of long running anime series. Speaking of anime, I think this is a good segue to my question."**

"I though it would be a fun idea. Plus, I really do want to cut TSOTI in half to avoid scrolling through dozens of chapters just to find a key point I mentioned. Trust me, the size of the story has backfired on me before and I had to subtly retcon things to make up for it. I'll never tell what they were, though."

"**One of the main things that drew me to your stories is that they focus on entirely original characters and plots, as opposed to probably 95% of the stories on this site that deal with Ash and co. Not to say that that's a bad thing, but I can only handle so much with the main company pushing the same person (with eternal youth) for over 20 years. What I want to ask is where you get your inspiration for your stories from. With your tendency to use the Pokémon themselves as the main characters, my closest guess would be the PMD series, but even that isn't the best comparison."**

"I've mentioned this a few other times in the past, but it does boil down to me finding my groove in the genre. I've been asked why I make these outlandish stories that have nothing to do with Pokémon other than using the species. Answers simple: to practice writing stories I intend to do through my non-fanfiction work.

"TSOTI is a starting ground for my fantasy story. LITC was my…testing ground to see if I could do slice-of-life stuff. BOTF is my starting ground for a ground, yet fantastical story. If you can't tell, I'm heavily into fantasy. I prefer to explore fantastical concepts with challenges beyond the reality. Sure, these days, a protagonist knocking out a dragon in one punch doesn't sound all that special, but that does depend on how you go about it. Introducing a cool world and an interesting conflict for the heroes.

"PMD might have inspired the idea of Pokémon acting like humans, but I never really played the games. Probably should at some point. The Pokémon are mainly there as templates, making them instantly recognizable to Pokémon fans and saving me some trouble. All in all, being on this site has really helped me grow, especially with the praise and critiques I've been given in that time."

"**Looking forward to hearing about the new characters for BOTF, especially the new antagonists. With the darker themes for the story you're teasing, I feel like the action's going to be kicked up to 11!**

**As always, keep up the great work and Happy Holidays!"**

"Happy Holidays, AllKorean! And what perfect timing, too!" I tossed the scroll away and rubbed my hands together. "We've come to the main event for tonight! No more questions, so now we get to talk about some of the new characters going into BOTF!"

"Sweet!" Pandora cheered. "Don't keep us waiting! Show them off!"

"You got it." I leaned into my chair. "So, first things first, some of these characters are either allies, enemies, or somewhere in the middle. Depends on their motives. Some are more obvious than others, as you'll come to see once I start talking, and some might be kept wrapped up, just to tease them even more."

"Quit stalling!" Marie and Blitz yelled.

I flinched. "Uh, okay. So, who to talk about first?" I tapped my fingers together, thinking it over, then let out a sigh. "Well, I've been hinting at this one, so might as well get to it.

"Prince Tadhg, the prince of the Umbra Clock Kingdom. He is a Meowstic, highly educated, and one of the chilliest princes you'll find in this story. Yes, even more chill than Erasmus. Erasmus will follow royal etiquette while Tadhg is more interested in living his life. So yeah, troublemaking prince. He's often kept in line by his sister, but she can only do so much. As a fun little tease, he's also intended to be a rival to Melissa when they meet."

Melissa blinked. "Rival?"

"Then there are his two knights, sworn to protect him at all times. Leitis and Una, a Buizel and Kirlia respectively. Leitis and Una were once slaves in the New Chariot Empire, specifically as the servants to the current emperor. This is where the M-Rating might be necessary, because they've been abused under his rule…with certain implications."

Ryder winced. "Oh…"

"They were saved and taken in by Tadhg's father, the king, and made to serve under Tadhg. That's about as far as I'll go into that, though Tadhg has quite the…open relationship with them."

Marie grinned. "Ooh~."

"Bad Marie!" Melissa scolded.

"Next, how about we talk about that emperor I mentioned? Emperor Nero. Now, if anyone is even remotely familiar with the actual Nero who ruled Ancient Rome, you'll know exactly why I picked this name. Nero is a Krokorok who took the place of emperor at a young age. Much like Tadhg, he's more interested in living his life, but without Tadhg's higher standards of morality. He is a cruel ruler who abuses his slaves, but is loved by his people because he throws grand parties.

"This isn't too different to Nero of Rome given that he murdered his wives and often spent the day throwing parties and gorging on food. I suggest looking him up. While the Krokorok won't be a beat-by-beat copy, you'll get a pretty good idea of the kind of scumbag he's meant to be.

"I suppose while we're still on the topic of New Chariot Empire, let's talk about Gallus. With the recent Sword and Shield, Gallus is a Dragapult, and a rather neurotic one. He was born into slavery, specifically to fight in the colosseum. Not much to go off with him for now, but New Chariot is going to bring out a new side of Melissa when she sees it for herself, and when she gets Leitis and Una's backstory on the events."

Jason clenched his fist. "The horror stories I've heard about New Chariot make me sick."

"Simply telling the audience doesn't give the full scope, too." I rubbed my chin. "So, who should I mention next? Ah, how about a bounty hunter? Grim Deadlock."

The Foresters, minus Melissa, glared. Melissa looked around, confused, then asked, "Who?"

"Grim Deadlock is a bounty hunter said to be cloaked in shadow. He's often going after big time criminals, and the Foresters aren't spared from his hunt. All he wants is to eliminate all criminals from Virdis. No one knows much about him, not even what species he is. Though, it is agreed upon he's a Ghost-Type."

"That's not all," Jason continued. "Grim has a rather strange ability to slice down his opponents, but leave no damage behind. They're left with an unexplainable exhaustion, leaving them vulnerable to being taken prisoner or killed. I advise all Foresters not to engage him. He's too much of a wild card to deal with."

Tamara glared. "Bounty hunters have always been a weird gray area for me. They're wiping out criminal activity, but also killing and causing panic. I mean, I'm against the killing, but you guys seriously don't know why this Grim fellow does this?"

Blitz shrugged. "Not a clue. He showed up one day and started cutting down high bounties. No one's around him long enough to get a proper name or his home."

"Fair enough."

I nodded. "Looking forward to when I get to him. Now for some of the morally questionable characters. We've got a special pair here. Yda the Worthless and Lovel the Beast."

Juniper snorted. "Someone actually goes by 'the Worthless'?"

"Don't let the name fool you. Yda is an Inteleon while Lovel is a Delphox. These two have a peculiar history. Lovel was actually a former soldier to the New Chariot Empire while Yda is a professional bounty hunter. They're long time lovers, and they have a bit of history regarding the big mysteries surrounding the Virdis region.

"As for the monikers, they're actually quite opposing of each other. Yda is quite brave and competent while Love is soft-spoken and more of an elderly man than a beast. The names have special meaning to them, but I'm not talking about it now. That's for later."

"What a tease," Pandora groaned.

"Now, here's another Galarian Pokémon who might actually work as Jet's future rival. Zana, the Thwackey soldier of the Arcania Kingdom. She's one of the top soldiers in the kingdom, and is extremely hostile towards intruders."

Jason deadpanned. "Yeah, that's a fitting rival for Jet."

"This is due mostly to how Arcania is one of the least threatening kingdoms. It's hardly even a kingdom, only recognized due to the past wisdom and strength of the former kings. Zana swore her absolute loyalty to them so that she can defend what little shred of honor the Arcania Kingdom has left." I rolled my eyes. "Annnd, given the current state of their king, that shred of honor is more like a thread."

Marie grinned. "She sounds like she'll be fun company."

"I'm sure she will be. And now, last but not least, one special character I've been withholding. Someone who will have an interesting impact on the story. I'm not going to talk much about her, because you might see her sooner than you think."

"Who?" Melissa asked.

"A mysterious figure known simply as Harlow. When we meet her, she'll cause untold havoc for all the Freaks and nobles once her name is made known, simply through the mystery of her actions."

The OCs stared at me silently, then glared. "That's it? That's all you got?" Juniper asked.

I nodded. "I can't talk much about Harlow right now. Trust me, you'll know why when she gets her debut."

Melissa squinted. "You have a problem with teasing."

"Sweetie, I am the problem! HA!"

Ryder sighed and shook his head. "The nonsense from this man, I swear…"

I pulled out a cup of hot cocoa and smiled. "You know, it's been a fun year. BOTF is only now getting into the action after one year. Time surely does fly. Here's to hoping we can get through the rest of it and many more stories in the future. Clock may be ticking, but who knows when it'll ring? Let's enjoy whatever time we can use and make the most of these stories. Until then, stay safe, eat well, dress warmly, and—" The OCs and I sprung up and yelled:

"Merry Christmas!"


End file.
